Massacre: the Tragedy at White River

by Marshall Sprague

Massacre is a highly readable and well-researched account of a violent outbreak of a party of White River Utes on the western slope of the Rockies during the autumn of 1879. . . . Written in an exciting narrative style which rivals that of a good novel."—Kliatt

Genres: War

364 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1980

Reviews

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Highly readable and well researched. A real understanding of the dilemma the Indians find themselves in when faced with the advancing white men.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly readable and balanced, this book covers not only the Meeker massacre, but provides a thorough biography of both Nathan Meeker and Chief Ouray. Sprague provides enough gossipy tidbits to keep things interesting, although at times the sheer number of individuals covered was overwhelming (including many well-known eastern historical figures). I learned more about parts of Colorado history that I didn’t know much about.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live in the area where this massacre took place. It is interesting and worthwhile to read about the events in the order they happened, and to see how the timing, communications (lack of, in some places) and other factors affected the outcome.

[Lianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to learn more about my family history. I believe Nathan Meeker and I share a common ancestor, the great-grandfather mentioned on page 3 of the 1957 hard cover edition (Little, Brown).

This book is exhaustive in scope. It seems to present a balanced and sympathetic narrative of people and events. I did not expect to learn so much about the history of Colorado and the role that these events played in the development of U.S. government/Native American relations.

I plan to read other books but this was a great place to start reading about this subject because it was so comprehensive and readable.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little to much detail on the main subjects lives